One of the most intriguing terrorist units is the Vityaz Battalion [“vityaz” means “knight” in Russian – Transl.] It operates in the Luhansk Oblast and formally is a part of the “Luhansk People’s Republic” (LPR). Through the months of the war, this unit received much less scrutiny than other units, reports Anton Pavlushko on Facebook.

The battalion’s zone of activity is Krasnodon and Izvarino. Its objective is to control the supply line of the “Luhansk People’s Republic” (LPR) through Izvarino. However, it is not exactly clear whether the battalion has some local militiamen or is exclusively the Russian professional military.

Meet Nikolai Glushkov, 23 years old, from the Russian city of Samara Oblast. He serves as a contract military professional in the 15th peacekeeping brigade in Samara.

This year, the team participated in the annexation of the Crimea. Starting some time in May, the team has been officially on exercises near the Ukrainian border.

As early as July-August Glushko was posing in the uniform of the Russian Army somewhere near the Ukrainian border (judging by his friends).

Now let’s take a look at firearms of the Vityaz Battalion. Here are Glushko and his companions (some of whom look very similar to his fellow soldiers in the 15th Brigade). The photo is dated September 16:

Here you can see LPR’s Vityaz Battalion’s logo on the chevrons and St. Georges ribbons [black and orange – Transl.] It seems that the same 15th Brigade just changed into “separatists” outfits. Two silenced sniper rifles VSS Vintorez shown in the photo, a firearm that is specific to the Russian Army, also confirms the regular military is involved. It can not be found among ordinary militia because: (1) its high price (starts at $10,000 vs. the $1,000-2,000 for the standard SVD sniper rifle), (2) its caliber (9mm), which is rare for field use, (3) its silencer and (4) its short range (up to 400 meters).

A simple separatist militiamen would never come across anything like this. The firearm is only used by reconnaissance units of the Russian Armed Forces and by Russian intelligence services.

As you can see, Russian professional military personnel with Russian weapons, unique to the regular army, fight within the ranks of the LPR. They use Russian heavy equipment with obscured/erased identification marks.

Since you’re here – we have a favor to ask. Russia’s hybrid war against Ukraine is ongoing, but major news agencies have gone away. But we’re here to stay, and will keep on providing quality, independent, open-access information on Ukrainian reforms, Russia’s hybrid war, human rights violations, political prisoners, Ukrainian history, and more. We are a non-profit, don’t have any political sponsors, and never will. If you like what you see, please help keep us online with a donation!

Related

About the Source

“Information Resistance” is a non-governmental project that aims to counteract external threats to the informational space of Ukraine in the main areas of military, economic, and energy, as well as the sphere of informational security.
“IR” functions as an initiative of the NGO “Center for Military and Political Studies,” located in Kyiv. “IR” was launched on March 2, 2014 (the day of the Russian intrusion into Crimea).

Support Euromaidan Press

The three-month campaign leading up to the spring presidential elections officially started on 31 December 2018. According to current polls, no single candidate stands out. Among leading candidates, however, most can be classified as...